


Hell On Wheels

by cambion, casdere (kancake)



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-07
Updated: 2014-05-16
Packaged: 2018-01-23 21:05:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1579511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cambion/pseuds/cambion, https://archiveofourown.org/users/kancake/pseuds/casdere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermann's new roommate is probably the Anti-Christ and everything is fine. It's totally cool. Dude, chill, everything's awesome. It is under control. The Anti-Christ might be wearing Heelys.</p><p>(more accurately: superpowered kids at boarding school for superkids - newt has freakish powers that scare everyone, except eventually hermann who gets weirdly fond of him. its adorable and sad, probably.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> some important notes:  
> hermann uses ax/axis/axiomself pronouns in this fic - you'll probably get used to it, but if it's too jarring/confusing try the web extension ponify. you can change the pronouns to any pronoun you like. hermann would prefer genderneutral ones, and itll be a bit of a plot point later, but whatever works best for you. 
> 
> this chapter has no real warnings other than slight ableism and slight misgendering - future chapters will include unreality and depictions of some unsettling hallucinations(?? sort of) and so-on. each chapter will have its own warnings, however.
> 
> beyond that uhm, just, excited to finally be posting a fic! casdere and i (cambion) plan a lot of fics and never write them, so we're happy to get this show on the road. comments are appreciated at always, but anyway yeah, enjoy the read!

He walks into Hermann’s room and he brings Hell with him…

…is what Hermann thinks to axiomself, as axis new roommate enters the room. Ax, personally, thinks ax’s quite clever, really. Were ax more of a pun-man ax would boast to someone about it, but ax’s never been exactly known for being ‘punny’, not all that humorous at all, actually. If someone were to label axis humor ability it would be somewhere between “drier than a summer in the Sahara” and “downright killjoy”.

Anyway, Newton Geiszler is five feet and six inches (and still growing!) of Hell on wheels, which is unfortunate for a number of reasons. First of all, the Hell bit. So the rumors go, Newton Geiszler is quite literally the anti-Christ, the spawn of Satan, the bringer of the end of days,  _et cetera_ , and quite  _honestly_  should  _not_  be present at an institution meant for _superheroes_  (Hermann would like to correct that; that’s a stereotype. Children here have superpowers, yes, but superheroes are  _not_  real and are in fact quite an insult to the superpowered experience).

Second of all, he is on wheels. It is the year two thousand and fourteen and he is wearing  _Heelies_ , for God’s sake. 

Hermann sighs, clearing axis throat with a growl to it, “Ahem, hello, Newton, welcome. I’m Hermann Gottlieb, I’ll be your room—”

"Hey! Hey, name’s Newt, call me Newt, good to meet ya," ‘Newt’on Geiszler skitters in response halfway through Hermann’s sentence. He reaches forward and grabs Hermann’s barely outstretched hand, shaking it hard enough to knock Hermann slightly off-kilter. "Sweet place ya got here, you already claim top bunk?" 

Flicking axis hand limply, as if to get off the filth that Newton’s hands  _must_  be crawling with, Hermann manages out a begrudging, “Yes, yes I have.”

It would appear that Newton was not anticipating that, as he turns ‘round to face Hermann. “Huh?” 

"I said, yes, I’ve claimed the top bunk."

"Oh, uh, I," he stammers, hand scratching the back of his neck, flicking his eyes back and forth between gray carpet and Hermann’s stare. "My bad, I uh, I just sort of, assumed, I—" It’s a pathetic display as he makes nervous gestures towards Hermann’s cane, positioned at his side. 

"I do just fine getting up to the top bunk, thank you." 

He bursts into nervous, likely-involuntary laughter, “Yeah, of course! Sorry, man, sorry. Haha, wow, I  _already_  look like a jackass. I’m doing a great job for myself here, aren’t I? It’s cool though, bottom bunk sounds  _ace_.”

Hermann sighs (again) before taking a seat in axis pulled-out desk chair. Ax thought ax'd been blessed - finally, a year without a roommate, no more squabbling about bedtime, no more scheduling the most asinine of details, no more cleaning up after others and fighting over _who_ owns _what_  portion of the room. Finally, some peace, quiet, and order. But no, Hermann could not be so lucky - when had Hermann _ever_ been lucky? 

The day Mr. Pentecost had approached axiom about Newton was not a remarkable one - in fact, Hermann can scarcely remember much else about that day save for the five, perhaps ten at the most, minutes the discussion took. Pentecost is a force of his own, and he does not so much inquire as he does order (which is a trait that Hermann respects, and admires, and wishes to have in axiomself one day, possibly, if ax could ever be so lucky. Which again, ax is never, ever lucky.), and it was in this fashion that he told axiom what would become of axis rooming situation. 

"You're aware of the student living in the rear building, correct?" 

Hermann nervously pulled at axis sleeves with the tips of axis fingers. "Yes, of course. I mean - not too much, to be frank. Only that he exists, is in solitary, and is the main focus of plenty of gossip." One of Pentecost's downfalls that even Hermann can admit, is that it's difficult to know what the right answer is, and there is always a right answer that he's looking for. 

"Do you believe the rumors,  Mr. Gottlieb?" 

"Not a word, sir."

"Well, you should." Oh. "He's one hell of a kid, that one," (it did not evade Hermann's notice when he smirked just a bit to himself as he said that), "and he's, well... a handful. But he's been making some good progress, and it's about time for him to move away from solitary."

Hermann nodded axis head just a bit, axis head turned down to look up at Mr. Pentecost from under axis eyelashes.

"That's where you come in."

Oh, of course there was a personal reason for this, Hermann had almost forgotten that wasn't merely a random discussion. But what could he possibly -

oh, oh no.

"As you know, there are a limited amount of students with their own rooms, and I think you'd be the most... capable, of handling him."

Axis eyes went wide - ax was swelling with pride, to be sure, because _yes_ ax _is_ one of the most mature students in the academy, but _no_ ax did not, not, _not_ want another roommate and certainly not --

"He moves into your room this Saturday," Pentecost finished, walking away without waiting for a response. With one last look over his shoulder, he said, "Good luck."

Oh boy, does ax need it.

It's a short while of unpacking and fidgeting and rolling around on his bed, muttering to himself, before Newton speaks up once more, "Okay, come on, let's address the elephant in the room."

"Do you mean the fact that you are _still_ wearing those god awful shoes?" Hermann cocks an eyebrow.

Newton seems taken aback at first, before shaking it off and continuing as he planned. "Oh, come _on_ , you know what I'm talking about, What do all the other kids say about me? Weird, freaky, demon kid? Got lil' stubby horns on his head?" He proceeds to mime the horns with his fingers right next to the horns - which, yes, are, rather stubby now that he mentions it, small and round and protruding from the skin on his forehead in quite a well, alarming, way. They're deep red, like, well... _blood_ , which is only more disconcerting. "Too hellish and horrible to be around other students for almost a _year_? You're not curious, not scared?"

Shutting axis book, ax turns to face him. "I thought maybe you would prefer not to discuss it."

"I mean, _yeah_ , explaining the weird, terrifying, awful things about me isn't exactly the funnest thing to do in the world but, neither is sitting in awkward silence with my roomie, sooo," he lays down and oh no, he's positioned in a stereotypical 'seductive' pose. What is wrong with him. "Got any questions, comments, concerns?"

When faced with that, Hermann honestly has no idea how to answer. To be sure, ax has plenty of questions, loads of comments, and an unfortunately large amount of concerns, but... which should ax voice, which is the most pertinent? 

"How about a... summary," ax decides. "Yourself, your powers, the like. For one, the rumors are all conflicting - none of them even mentioned the horns - and for another, that's simply standard small talk for us around here." 

Newton seems... irritated. Why is he irritated? Isn't this what he _wanted_ axiom to ask him? " _No_ horns, really? Why would that not be the first thing people mention. What the fuck, what the fuck. What kind of distorted game of telephone happened to the student body for _that_ to be left out?" He proceeds to mutter, frustrated, to himself for some time. Hermann proceeds to blink, deadpan, at him for some time.

"Okay, _okay_ ," Newton exhales, seeming to have come to terms with the fact that his horns were _not_ part of the rumors about him. "Uh. A _nyway_. First important clarification - probably the _most_ important one, if you ask me - would be that I'm _not_ the son of Satan. I mean -- probably? I guess I have no _actual_ solid evidence to the contrary--"

"Oh, you are just _filling_ me to the brim with confidence," ax snips (interrupting Newton halfway through his sentence, this time. (Take that.)).

"Uh? Oh yeah, me too man, _me too_. I wish I was better at even convincing _myself_ of things, much less other people. But like, no, seriously, for realsies. The hellspawn thing is all just external speculation; no proof whatsoever. All there's _proof_ of, is that I've got stubby lil' horns," he pinches his horns cartoonishly, "weird-ass goat-pupils -- which, for the record, let me _tell_ you how hard it is to get a decent prescription for these bad boys. It is _killer_ ," he adjusts his glasses. "And, also, that I can bring forth Hellish, Lovecraftian-esque creatures from seemingly thin air, thus defying all currently known basic laws of physics. Which, now that I mention it--"

"Wait, pardon? You--"

"--most superpowers _do_ defy the laws of physics - that's sort of what makes them superpowers--"

"Wait, just a moment, I--"

"--isn't it? But, for some reason, weird furry tentacles with gaping maws just seem more unnatural, than, say, conjuring fire from your fingertips, I guess--"

" _Newton_ , for God's sake, will you _shut up_!"

The room goes eerily quiet, save for Hermann's barely ragged breathing.

Newton blinks (his freakish, dull red, horizontally pupiled eyes).

"That was, uh, really uncharacteristic."

Hermann rubs axis temple, "You don't even know me, how can you possibly fit me into characteristic actions?"

"Well. Yeah," he chuckles. "But, I just. You don't look like the yelling type, uh--" he scrambles, grabbing at the thin air for the words he desperately needs in order to avoiding making an ass of himself, again. "I just mean, you're wearing a _sweatervest_ on a _Saturday_."

Well.

Fair point.

Crossing axis legs and leaning back, ax says as much, "Yes, fine, I see what you mean."

"Haha, _yeah_ , score," Newton draws back his elbow victoriously. 

"Anyway," Hermann continues - keeping Newton on task seems to be quite the laborious task. "You said you... 'bring forth' _what_ , exactly?" 

"Well, you know," he starts, shrugging like he's only the slightest bit nervous about this discussion. "Hellish, Lovecraftian-esque, weird furry tentacles with gaping maws, sort of? I mean, they vary, sort of. Sometimes they're more fur, sometimes more tentacle - sometimes more maw, sometimes more groups of eyes? I mean - here, lemme show you."

Hermann's brain reacts too slowly to this event, as Newton is already leaping out of bed and rolling (how is he so graceful in those shoes) towards the desk, running his grubby little hands all over Hermann's possessions. "Hmm, hm... Hm, _hm_ hm, hmm," Newton hums to himself, sing-song as he bounces slightly on his wheeled heels. "Hm!" he triumphs, picking up a pen.

"Newton, what are you doi--"

"Nah, nah, it's cool. I got this, chill out, no worries, calm down, _it's fine_ , no problem, _it is under con-trol._ "

"The more you reassure me, the less assured I am."

Focusing on the pen laid in both of his palms, he says, "That's totally fair, yeah, I'll be quiet. Just chillax." Hermann does axis absolute best to 'chillax', because really, what else can ax do? The anti-christ is axis roommate and ax has resigned axiomself to axis fate.

Ax somehow did _not_ sufficiently prepare axiomself for the pen in Newton's hands to transform into.. well, a Hellish Lovecraftian-esque, weird furry creature covered in patches of green eyes.  

"What. What is that." 

Newton grins unsettlingly wide, "This is what I do! Turn things into, well... _things_. Sometimes they're bigger, or different shapes - as you can see this one's approximately the size and shape of the pen, so." 

Eyes incredibly wide, Hermann steps backward half a step, "W- _why_ did you do that? Why did you bring _that_ here? _Now?_ "

"Well, I mean, it's the best way to explain, really," he says nonchalantly, as if he's simply giving an example in a middle school science classroom. "Besides, this small I can control easy, I'll be sendin' it back here in a jiffy. Or, well..." he trails off.

"'Or well', _what_?" Hermann sneers, left upper lip curled up in disgust. He can't _possibly_ be considering anything other than sending it back _immediately_. 

"It's just," he sighs with a smile, bringing his hands up closer to his face. "This one's... so much, _cuter_ than the rest?"

What.

"You _must_ be kidding me."

Newton stiffens and straightens up, looking at Hermann - _uncharacteristically_ \- seriously. "Scout's honor, this thing's like, a little angel, to be honest." The creature has since begun skittering across Newton's hands, crawling around in much like any regular insect would - a calm pill bug, perhaps. "And can ya hear that? Oh _Hermann_ , it's purrin'. Oh my god, I have to keep it."

"You can't be serious."

"Oh, I most definitely am serious. I've never been more serious in my life, probably. I'd tell you to look at my serious face, but I am too busy smiling at the cutest hell creature in the entire world." He isn't wrong - the creature is positioned right at Newton's eye-level as he practically coos at it.

Hermann holds axis face in axis hands. 

"Fine, fine. Just keep it away from me, _please_ ," ax sighs. "I am tired, and this has been far too much for me for now. Please do not get either of us killed - don't make me regret this."

Newton laughs (bitterly, Hermann notes), in response, before he nods, "Yeah, yeah, no problem. I can do like, all of those things, definitely." He makes a clicking noise in the side of his mouth, drawing one hand away from the Hell creature to shoot a hand-pistol at him. 

It does not take long for axiom to about axis nightly rituals (despite it only being 9 pm, hardly), and so ax briefly flicks out the lights. Newton scoffs, "What? You're seriously _already_ sleeping?"

"I stick to my weekly schedule," ax mutters. "And regardless, I have had an... interesting evening." Ax walks just past him, before inhaling, and levitating axiomself up to the top bunk, nestling easily into the blankets. "Good night, Newton."

"So _that's_ how you get up there! Holy shit, I knew there was a catch--"

"Good _night_ , Newton."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was originally going to include a lot more content but, i like where it is.  
> warnings for sort of unreality, and some emetophobia.

"I really don't see how the hell you're so calm about this."

Ax would not describe axis current disposition as 'calm'. Ax is currently leaned over a table in the cafeteria, head face-down, grumbling about where axis went wrong, what ax could've possibly done to deserve this. "Calm?" ax snips. 

"Well, I uh..." Vanessa laughs nervously to herself, "for you, anyway. You're having much less of a conniption that I expected?" She leans back, long fingers tapping at the edges of her cup, "Like, your roommate is the anti-Christ, dude - this is only about how stressed you acted when you were rooming with Tendo, and he re-organized your vests _and_ underwear for you. I think you're handling it well."

Hermann sighs, " _Might_ be the anti-Christ. It isn't proven."

"See what I mean?" she laughs airily. She does have a point, really; for Hermann, this is incredibly calm. Vanessa's been axis best friend for years, so ax supposes ax ought to be used to her knowing axiom well, but ax just isn't used to people understanding axiom as well as ax understands them. "Though, I guess maybe you're just tired. You've had a long morning."

That she was, unsurprisingly, also correct about. Ax had woken up right as the first sliver of dawn faded through the blinds, to the blood-curdling screeching of _something_ \- axis room was filled with it. Whispers were crawling on the walls and echoing in tandem with muffled screams, it was as if ax had landed directly in a horror movie. Shaking, ax glanced to the side of ax bunk to try and figure out what on Earth was happening. 

"No, no sweetie shh, shhh it's okay, calm down," came a cooing from down below as well, doing nothing to stop the incessant cries of, whatever it was. "You're okay, it's fine, please stop screaming. My roommate already thinks I'm a fucking freak and I really don't want to have to send you back there - oh god no please stop crying please -" and that's the last string of words Hermann recognized before that voice too broke off into light, incoherent screeches. 

Hermann was easily able to deduce that voice was Newton - axis new roommate, who had just moved in, right - and upon accessing axis memories more thoroughly, the crying creature was likely the abomination Newton had brought into their room the evening before. _Lovely_.

Sitting up slightly (and bending to not bump axis head on the ceiling above), ax situated axiomself before slowly lifting, and then lowering axiomself down to the floor. Newton was still garbling and - honestly, it was really, starting to get horrifying now. There was chanting in more than one voice, all coming from Newton's mouth, and as Hermann moved to actually see Newton's face, ax could not recognize the way his mouth was moving as entirely... human. 

Worse than that, there was a desperation in Newton's eyes that made Hermann tense and wince. 

Clearing axis throat, Hermann finally spoke - voice cracky and groggy, "What is going on, Newton."

Newton's head snapped to look directly at axiom (which was inhuman, as well. Hermann swallowed nervously), eyes wide and glasses a bit askew. "I uh, haha, hi! Good morning! Uh, you see, it's uh - I mean, well. It's under control, I got this. _Not to wo-rry_ ," he babbled, emphasizing each syllable on the last statement.

"Newton, just--"

"Go back to bed, it's alright. It'll chill out soon, I bet, haha--"

" _Just_ be honest with me. Don't evade, don't excuse, what is the matter with the creature?"

Blinking, Newton nodded slightly, adjusting his glasses to be back in their correct place. "Uh well, I guess I'm not really sure? I mean, I think, I think it might be hungry, probably." Hermann immediately made a face of disgust (fear?). "No, no, don't look that that! I doubt it eats anything bad, I mean... I guess I'm not too sure. I can kind of tell what it's saying but --"

" _You can tell what it's saying_?"

"Well, yeah, I mean, no, I mean -- oh Hell, who cares, I already summoned this thing what's more explanation," he sighed, "I can speak its language, yeah. I mean, I usually can, but this one's... bad at it, it's not really talking right. It's screeching more than it is talking." 

Hermann suddenly realized the thing Newton was doing earlier was trying to communicate with the thing, oh _Lord_. 

"Oh, oh my god," Newton blinked, eyes fixated directly on the creature, which was resting in his hands, screaming. He looked as if something had just dawned on him, and suddenly made perfect sense. "Oh my god, _Hermann_."

"What, Newton?" Hermann sighed. This was all far too much for axiom, much too early in the morning.

"I think," he took a deep breath in. "I think it's a _baby_."

Hermann's eyes widened, looking at the wretched _thing_ in Newton's grasp. "A baby _what_?"

He laughed a bit, smile lines and dimples appearing, "I mean, that is the question, isn't it? I wasn't even sure they aged - if they ever really, began or ended but. I think, I think this _thing_ is a _baby thing_." Grin widening, he began to twirl his finger slightly at it. He was almost touching it but not quite, disgusting coddling noises coming out of his mouth in adoration. "That explains why you're so darn adorable, yes you are, _coochie coochie coo_!"

"That's ridiculous," Hermann deadpanned - Newton looking up at axiom in offense. "Simply because the creature did not speak back to you correctly, you assume it's in its infancy? There's no other evidence to support that, that's a horrible conclusion - it has even _less_ founding than the theory that you are the anti-Christ." 

"I, well, wow," Newton balked, a melodramatic gasp following it. "It makes perfect sense, dude. Because, like - it's hard to explain, okay, I just _know_ , okay. I just know. You got like, a better idea to conclude this dilemma?"

"How is this even a dilemma? I thought the dilemma was what the creature was screaming about - is _still_ screaming about, mind you, in case you have _somehow_ forgotten," ax rubbed axis temples in a futile attempt to aid the building headache ax was acquiring.

"Okay yeah, that's the main dilemma, but determining facts about it gets us _that much_ closer to answering that question - which by the way, I'm still pretty sure it's hungry --"

"How on earth do you know that?"

"-- I just do okay? Shut up. Anyway, no seriously, you got any better ideas? Because unless this baby learns how to fluently speak in the tongues of the dead, then I got nothing."

"The tongues of the, _the what_?" Hermann stammered - how did Newton say these things so casually? Well, to be fair, he did have some time to get used it but, but still, it was unnerving. Hermann did not like it one bit.

"The dead, the tongues of the dead. it's mostly a joke, I don't know what the tongues are of, I mean - it doesn't matter, okay. We're off track here. The point is, do you have a better idea? Got a way we can read this thing's mind?"

Hermann chose not to respond.

Oh no, there was no way he was going down that road, _no_ way whatsoever -

"Oh my god, you totally do, don't you," he murmured, hopeful and gentle in comparison to his usual atrocity of a voice (Hermann, at this point in their acquaintance, would describe his voice best as a violin's E string being played with far too much pressure by a un-rosined bow). "Can you read minds? Holy shit, can you read minds." 

Hermann's eyes went up into axis head, as if pleading for assistance from some higher power ax didn't actually believe in. "Yes, yes I can. My powers are telepathy and telekinesis."

"Oh! So, you were like.. lifting your body yesterday? Not like, flying or something. Oh man, that is so cool, that's wicked, _hell yeah_. I wish those were my powers, that actually sounds fun. You probably know like everyone's secrets --" in the midst of his raving, his eyebrows raised in horror. "Oh shit, have you read my mind? Don't read my mind."

"I don't typically read people's minds, no. That's a huge invasion of privacy."

"Oh! Cool, I mean, I don't really care about privacy, I'm an open book. I more meant like, _I_ don't like being in my brain, I don't want you here. This is for your sake dude, don't read my mind."

Ax blinked in surprise - that was a first.  However, it did make an awful lot of sense considering, well... _everything_. But it made ax worry, just a little (both for axis sake, and for Newton). "Yes, of course, I won't, for multiple reasons now."

Newton seemed to remember where they were before they got sidetracked just then (sidetracking for brief irritating moments seemed to be a habit with them, and they hadn't even known each other for much more than twelve hours). "Anyway, you can read minds, yeah? So can you--"

"Absolutely not."

Face fallen, Newton whined, "Aww, _come on,_ man! It'd be good! We could know what it wants, needs, so it doesn't like, die - can these things die? I hope they can - and, and --"

"Why would I want that? Why would I want that. If I don't want to go into _your_ mind, why would would I want to go into _its_."

"Okay, listen, it'd just be for a second--"

"Oh, just a second of Hell! How _lovely_ \--"

"--it'd be totally fine, seriously, _I believe in_ \--"

"--that is most certainly exactly what I want to do. I woke up today--"

"-- _you_ , you can do it. It won't be much, and I, oh my god--"

"--thinking, you know what I'd like to do? Waltz into an evil creature's little hell-mind, of course, and oh _heavens_ \--"

" _Will you stop yelling over me_!" they both shouted in unison.

Sighing (in unison), they quieted down, glares fixated on one another, tensions high and tight between them. Eventually, Newton, in a hushed less-screechy tone, spoke, "It could determine whether or not this thing really is evil."

Hermann raised an eyebrow.

"If you find evil and horror in there, I'll get rid of it, I promise. But if you find some good in it, I don't - I don't want to send it back _there_." As Newton spoke, he looked, he looked _serious_. And desperate, and _afraid_.

Hermann's expression softened some at that, before ax nodded, "Alright, I'll do it. But merely for a single moment." Newton beamed at axiom, eyes and teeth practically glowing.

Running axis hands along the sides of axis face in exasperation and dragging down axis cheeks, Hermann moved to fixate on the creature, focusing all of axis attention on its energy. Its energy had been sending out small thoughts, of sorts, for some time now, even more strongly than most humans - but Hermann had, of course, opted to ignore this. Now that ax was paying attention, it was hugely clear, and easy to pinpoint the core and then read in on it.

As was expected from the strength of the waves the creature gave off, it was... intense. Hermann was surrounded by all that it experienced and knew and believed which was, frankly, not very much, and incredibly inconsistent. There was fear, crippling confused _fear_ and melancholy - shivering, shaky vision tiny legs eyes looking everywhere in a room that was too bright and foreign and oh, there was so much _hunger_. There was emptiness and insecurity, there was a need for... for berries, for love, for human... hair? But mostly for berries. There was memory of, oh lord Hermann hoped to _never_ see that again - ax hoped to not, and ax failed, chasing the rabbit and losing focus. 

When ax finally pulled back there was dry heave slick all over axis palms. 

Newton had set the creature down and was rubbing Hermann's back, "Dude I'm so sorry, I'm _so_ so sorry shit, are you okay? Was it that bad oh my god I'm sorry, _fuck_ I fucked up haha--"

" _Newton_ ," ax hissed. "I'm _fine_ , I'm completely... fine."

"Really? I mean, that's good but you dont look so... fine, haha," Newton grinned nervously. "So uh, guess I should be sendin' lil monster back then?"

Without hesitation, Hermann practically barked, "No! You will do _no_ such thing."

Newton had already been focusing down on the little thing when Hermann spoke, "Huh?" 

"We are not sending that poor thing back... back there."

Newton blinked. "Oh shit, you saw it huh - I've hardly even seen it oh god. Holy shit, you okay?"

"I'm fine, stop touching me."

Pulling his hand back sheepishly, "Okay, right, okay. But uh so... so the thing's okay, the thing's good?"

Trying to find something to wipe the saliva and stomach acid off of axis hands, Hermann nodded, "It's good. It's... scared, and it's hungry. It eats berries and --"

"And?"

With a swallow, "-- and, I don't. Know if it eats this, per se, but it craves human hair. But mostly, mostly berries."

Newton seemed to take a moment to process, but he set the creature down in its makeshift cage again, and immediately bolted out of the room. 

Hermann went back to sleep.

This had been this morning, and as Hermann sits with Vanessa in the commons, ax still isn't quite... adjusted. Ax has a pet now, of sorts (which ax is uncomfortably attached to, as mindreading can often cause), and it is a strange, small furry creature covered in neon green eyes, with strange, strange little centipede feet. 

"Do you want another smoothie?" Vanessa murmurs, reaching out and rubbing the back of Hermann's blazer. "Your jacket's super scratchy, by the way, I hate this jacket."

"Shut up, Vanessa."

"Fuck you too, Herms," she says with a smile in her voice, causing Hermann to sit up and look at her. Maybe ax can get through this, honestly, it isn't so horrible -

\- is what ax thinks right before Newton comes running through the commons, basket filled with... berries, in axis hands, a red cape on him as if he were Little Red Riding Hood. 

"Newton, Newton, what are you --"

"Can't talk, got an angry girl with less hair than before following me, gotta go bye!"

Hermann's head falls onto the table again.


End file.
